1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to digital content, and more particularly, to controlling access to digital content.
2. Background
Digital content (may also be referred to as data) is commonly used in today's computing environment. Digital content may be stored on a storage device (also referred to as storage system), or distributed via electronic communication such as the Internet, Peer-to-Peer software, electronic mail, and others. The Internet and other communication networks today enable various digital appliances and systems (may also be referred to as Accessing Systems) to interconnect and exchange digital content. Accessing Systems may include without limitation, personal computers, laptop computers, tablet computers, personal digital assistants (PDAs), mobile phones, MP3 players, DVD players, gaming consoles, digital recording devices such as digital cameras, and others.
Depending on the type of application, digital content is typically pre-processed prior to being utilized by an Accessing System. The term “pre-processing” (or “pre-processed”) as used herein can include any operation that is used to enable or assist viewing, playing, listening to, reading, displaying, executing or accessing digital content. Some examples of pre-processing include compressing and de-compressing operations performed by a CODEC (compressor/de-compressor) module; decryption and encryption operations performed by a cryptographic module; and others. It is noteworthy that pre-processing as used herein does not depend on actual physical transfer of digital content from one location to another location.
Digital content is typically stored as an electronic file. A digital content file (may also be referred to as a “file”) typically includes data that can be viewed, listened to, read, played, executed, or otherwise utilized by an end user using an appropriate application or device. A digital content file may include an audio file, a video file, a multi-media content file, a software file, an electronic book, a document, a computer game, a database, an application, or any other type of digital content. There are different file formats for storing digital content. For example, the MP3, Wav, REALAUDIO file format, and other file formats may be used to store audio files, while MP4, DIVX®, REALVIDEO file format, and other formats may be used for storing both audio and video files.
Typically, most digital content file formats may include a Bit Rate that is associated with the digital content. The Bit Rate is the data one needs to pre-process within a unit of time. The pre-processing depends on the file format and the type of operation. For example, to play an audio file, a certain amount of data is pre-processed to properly execute the audio file with minimal latency. If the audio file is an MP3 file it may have a Bit Rate of 128 kbps. This means that 128k bit of information is pre-processed for each second of encoded music. The Bit Rate may be fixed for a file, or may be variable. The Bit Rate may also correspond to the quality of encoding for some applications, typically, higher the Bit Rate, better the quality.
Different digital content files may have different Bit Rates. The difference in Bit Rates typically results in different file sizes. When digital content is utilized, the Accessing System (for example, a media player) needs data at a speed equal to or faster than the Bit Rate. Most Accessing Systems use a memory buffer (or storage space) to store content for uninterrupted processing, i.e. data is received from a storage system and then stored by the Accessing System in a memory buffer. When data is not received fast enough, then the Accessing Unit may have to interrupt processing (for example, playback) to buffer data.
Digital content may have some value to an entity, individual, business or a combination thereof. Hence, access to digital content may be limited to authorized applications, devices or a combination thereof, for enabling and safeguarding transactions involving digital content.
Digital Rights Management (DRM) may be used to protect digital content. DRM allows one to limit access to digital content by associating specific permissions to content. For example, a user may be prohibited from making a copy of, distributing, modifying, selling, or performing a copyrighted digital content file, without receiving proper permission from the copyright owner. Examples of copyrighted digital content include commercial movies, commercial music, electronic books, software, computer games, and the like. Different DRM standards may be used for different content types and formats and may provide different methods to distribute digital content and the associated permissions.
Memory devices such as memory cards, Smart cards, SIM (subscriber identity module) cards, embedded memory chips and others are becoming popular for storing digital content. Such devices have a maximum read and write speed that is determined by the underlying related technology such as the type of memory used (for example, NAND flash, NOR flash, EEPROM and others) or the type of memory controller. These memory devices can often release digital content to an Accessing System at a speed greater than a minimum speed at which the Accessing System needs access to the digital content for properly utilizing the digital content.
Digital content owners and providers seek to prevent digital content “piracy”, i.e. unauthorized use and distribution of digital content. Digital content owners such as recording companies and movie studios have not been very successful in solving piracy related problems. Therefore, there is a need for a method and system to discourage piracy without affecting authorized distribution and use of digital content.